Beet Kvass Recipe

This summer and fall I've been growing Red Ace and Touchstone Gold beets. I love beets roasted with olive oil, salt, pomegranate molasses and a few herbs from the garden. They are also wonderful for making kvass, a fermented drink that provides many nutrients, probiotics and cleansing properties to keep a body healthy.

Kvass has an earthy, salty, tangy flavor with a slight hint of sweetness. Then of course, the deep jewel-toned magenta color really appeals to me! Kvass is extremely easy to make and needs just a few ingredients.

Beet Kvass Recipe

1 gallon container with loose fitting lid
550 grams/1.5 lbs beets peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 T salt sea salt
1/4 C whey - you can drain the whey off plain yogurt or use a packet of kefir starter culture
6 1/2 C filtered water

Place all the ingredients into the gallon container and give it a gentle stir. Place the lid on and let it sit at room temperature for a week. Little bubbles will start to form as the fermentation takes place and you might notice a film forming on the surface of the liquid. Use a slotted spoon to gently remove the film. At the end of a 7 days, strain the kvass from the beets and pour into storage containers. Save the beets and 1 cup of kvass to use for one more fermentation cycle.

I enjoy my kvass chilled and drink a 6oz glass in the morning and a one in the evening. I also mix it with mineral water to give it some bubbles.

This post is also a part of Tasty Traditions , Simple Lives Thursdays and Foodie Friday.